The wind blew some leaves onto my legs and then past, tumbling down the forest floor and occasionally dipping skyward before falling back down.
MENU: Here are your quests:
MENU: Leave the forest (1 silver token).
MENU: Meet someone new (1 silver token).
MENU: Survive a wolf attack (1 silver token).
I stopped. My heart was pounding. Why was my heart pounding?
RYAN: Survive a wolf attack?
MENU: Yeah, you've had that since you got here.
RYAN: Could you have started with that?
MENU: I don't know, could I?
RYAN: Ugh.
I spun around, looking for a wolf. I didn't see any wolves. Wolves were pack hunters, right? Did wolves hunt during the day? Why didn't I watch more Planet Earth?
Every rustle of the leaves sounded like the patter of paws. Every distant rock looked like a wolf stalking its prey.
RYAN: I want to use that token.
MENU: Okay.
MENU: Just imagine using it.
RYAN: I'm talking to you, aren't I?
MENU: Don't imagine asking me to use it, imagine using it.
I imagined going up to one of those machines at the movies or the mall. If you put in a quarter, you could twist the metal knob and candy would fall down. It was always a rip off.
And then, an orb was in my hand. It was small, and grey, with a label that read "Chainmail (UCN)". UCN, meaning uncommon?
MENU: Probably.
RYAN: Do you ever stop listening?
MENU: Think about that question for a second.
I grumbled and yanked open the orb. The plastic faded into a yellow energy, that twisted and grew into a sheet. The energy dissipated, leaving a hefty chainmail shirt in my arms.
RYAN: Why is it so heavy?
MENU: Why are you so whiny? Put it on.
As fast as I could, which wasn't incredibly so, I pulled the chainmail over my head and put my arms through the sleeves. The rings were small and tightly woven. They were silvery, possibly a new iron. I didn't really know anything about metal. I imagined it would be a darker grey, though that would probably be a result of oxidation. So, that tracks, I thought.
Maybe it was the panicked movement, or the noise of clinking chains and crunching leaves, but a lone wolf approached from behind a tree. I got the feeling it had been assessing me.
It slowly approached, despite my clear recognition of it. Was it waiting for the chance to strike? Or did it think I had nothing it couldn't handle.
I looked down, careful not to make eye contact while observing it from my peripheral. It was my base instinct. In real danger, I froze, thinking I could avoid its crosshairs.
For a few moments, it seemed to work. The wolf eyed me while slowly circling. It stopped and stared. Then, without warning, it jumped straight at me.
I was knocked to the ground as the axis of my world spun and my head hit the forest floor. The wolf tried biting into my neck, but the rings of the chainmail prevented a clean kill. Still, the force of the bite dug the rings into my neck and novel pain struck me. I called out.
RYAN: Help!
I heaved the wolf off of me, just slightly, and it bit an ear on the way while aiming for my face. The wolf tore it off, with the sound of ripping flesh clear on one side and silent on the other. That pain rocked me, pumping adrenaline into my veins as I screamed.
RYAN: AAAAAGH!
My head, my hair was wet. I rolled over and away, holding a hand to my ear. It trickled down my arm and the sleeve of my uniform soaked it up. Flecks of forest crud clung to the wound. I got to my knees, but I was too dizzy to continue.
The wolf was ready to pounce again. I had made little distance with rolling. Through some coincidence of positioning, we were face to face again. It smiled first, showing the prize stuck in its teeth. It was most of an ear; the tear wasn't clean. It knocked its head back, snapping its prize down its throat.
I was going to die. But this wasn't like the bus. I had more time to register what was happening. I was scared. My body cried out in sync with my mind.
The wolf jumped and I flinched away with closed eyes. No, I thought. I raised my forearms up to defend my head. Blood pumped through my wound and down my neck.
It slammed into me, but I held my awkward kneeling stance. Rather, the body of the wolf slammed into me. I opened my eyes as the wolf rolled off my lap and onto the forest floor. An arrow was straight through its eye.
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